The gyro quesadilla, front, and chicken shawarma, back, from Open Sesame.

Open Sesame Lebanese Cafe

Review

Worth a visit to highly recommended

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It was a happy day re­cently when I decided to finally check out an East Village cafe known for its alluring chicken shaw­arma.

The cafe, called Open Sesame, is located on East Locust and sells classic Lebanese fare for lunch and dinner. Lebanese cuisine is multicultural and Mediterr­anean, and many of the dishes will seem familiar to diners who’ve been to a Greek or Turkish restaur­ant: gyros, stuffed grape leaves, hummus and the like.

The small dining room is filled with hanging Arabic lanterns and original art painted by a friend of owner Mario Gazali, who also runs the Gazali’s by Drake Univ­ersity. At lunch, the restau­rant is typically a full house.

In general, the food at Open Sesame is boldly flavored thanks to the generous use of Middle Eastern spices. You can get a sense of that while contemplating the menu because tempting aromas from the kitchen perfume the air in the dining room.

The gem here is the chicken shawarma pita wrap ($9). It’s a perfect lunch — fast and flavorful. Much like a gyro, shawarma includes sliced spit-roasted chicken that has been mar­in­ated in herbs and spices. It’s tangy and garlicky and comes with sliced onions, tomatoes and pickles on a grilled pita.

It is served with a choice of a lentil soup, house salad, or my new favorite side dish, the Lebanese fries. These delightful home fries are sprinkled with salt and a dash of cinnamon.

For a broader view of typical Lebanese food, try the sampler platter ($12). It includes hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel and rice-stuffed grape leaves. In particular, the stuffed grape leaves are a must-try and can be ordered as a separate mezze (appetizer) for $7. The leaves, cooked until army green, are filled with rice, chickpeas and tomato, then rolled into little burritos and drizzled with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

Complement this dish with a traditional Lebanese beverage called jalab ($3). It’s a refreshing mixture of rose water and date syrup topped with pine nuts.

Vegetarians will app­reciate a number of no-meat items on the menu. In add­ition to the stuffed grape leaves, the restaurant serves crispy falafel, which are fried chickpea patties that sub in nicely for meat in a pita wrap ($9).

Some dishes are playful. The gyro quesadilla ($9) with melted mozzarella is a fun, cheesy spin on the trad­it­ional gyro that’s served with a creamy cucumber dipping sauce. The vege­tarian version is loaded with veggies.

Open Sesame brings a charming and balanced mix of traditional and contemporary Lebanese food and is a fun place to go whether you’re after a quick business lunch or a leisurely weekend dinner.